[en] Leiomyomas of the appendix are rare and most are encountered incidentally during exploration of the abdomen for some other disease, during postmortem examination, or in the course of routine pathologic examinations of surgical specimens. We report here the findings of ultrasonography, CT and surgery of a case of leiomyoma that arose from the appendix; this lesion was pathologically confirmed

[en] Recently, therapeutic embolization has been advocated as the treatment of choice for spinal AVM(arteriovenous malformations). The authors review our experience with two cases of spinal AVM treated by embolization using coaxial Tracker-18 microcatheter with Latvian. The patients included a 10 year old male with glomus type and a 14 year old female with juvenile type spinal AVM revealed recanalization 5 month later. Embolization provides curative or temporary treatment for spinal AVM. After embolic occlusion, delayed reassessment with arteriography is indicated, particularly if symptoms persist or recur

[en] With the recent advance in micro catheters, steerable guide wires, balloons, embolic materials and digital subtraction angiography (DSA), as well as technical refinements in endovascular surgery, there has been a revolution in therapeutic strategies for cerebral arteriovenous malformations (AVMs). We have performed super selective angiography and embolization with Tracker micro catheter about 12 cases of brain AVMs for therapeutic and preoperative aims. This micro catheter and guide wire provided high selectivity of feeding artery, greater maneuverability and useful for deliver various embolus materials

[en] Vascular complications in a patient with chronic relapsing pancreatitis are reported. Increased velocity of the portal flow and pulsatile wave form were seen in Doppler examination. On angiography, marked hyper vascularity, arteriovenous shunting and early portal vein filling was demonstrated. Increased capillary vessels in thickened capsule caused by chronic inflammation were observed in the pathologic specimen

[en] Recently, colonic diverticulosis in Korea is one of rapidly increased disease in its incidence but it is different from that of western counties in the incidence or developing pattern. So, authors reviewed 1921 cases of double contrast study performed during 20 months, from Jan 1st , 1987 to Aug 30th, 1988 at the Department of Radiology. Yeungnam University Hospital to analyzed current disease pattern of the colonic diverticulosis. The results were as follows; 1. The incidence were 11.8%(226/1921) and predominant in male. 2. The mean age of patients was 48.41 years and older in female, but their incidence was not increased with advancing age over 6th decade. 3. The mean number of diverticular was 7.6 and higher in cases involving several anatomic location than limited to one location. 4. Diverticulosis more commonly involved several anatomic location than one location. 5. Left sided colonic diverticulosis was found in relatively older age group and more frequently involved descending colon than sigmoid colon most commonly seen in western people. 6. Recently, the incidence of colonic diverticulosis is increasing in both the right and left colon, which is thought to be due to various factors and partly to the routine use of double contrast study of the colon

[en] Adrenal rest tumors are aberrant adrenocortical tissue which has been most commonly described in abdominal and pelvic sites. To our knowledge, there has been no previous description of an adrenal rest tumor of the greater omentum. We present a case of a pathologically confirmed adrenal rest tumor of the greater omentum in a 76-year- old man

[en] Highlights: • EHMT2 (a histone methyltransferase) was determined to be significantly overexpressed in breast cancer tissues. • Knockdown of EHMT2 reduced cell migration/invasion and regulated the expression of EMT-related markers. • EHMT2 regulated EMT markers via up-regulation of MSK1-SNAIL1. Various modes of epigenetic regulation of breast cancer proliferation and metastasis have been investigated, but epigenetic mechanisms involved in breast cancer metastasis remain elusive. Thus, in this study, EHMT2 (a histone methyltransferase) was determined to be significantly overexpressed in breast cancer tissues and in Oncomine data. In addition, knockdown of EHMT2 reduced cell migration/invasion and regulated the expression of EMT-related markers (E-cadherin, Claudin 1, and Vimentin). Furthermore, treatment with BIX-01294, a specific inhibitor of EHMT2, affected migration/invasion in MDA-MB-231 cells. Therefore, our findings demonstrate functions of EHMT2 in breast cancer metastasis and suggest that targeting EHMT2 may be an effective therapeutic strategy for preventing breast cancer metastasis.

[en] Accurate prediction of pharmacokinetic (PK) and pharmacodynamic (PD) characteristics is critical for drug development. Oral drugs are particularly difficult because they are absorbed by the intestine and metabolized in the liver before systemic metabolism in vivo; this is called the first-pass effect and is a critical factor for predicting oral bioavailability (BA). Here, we fabricated a new networking and circulating cell culture system (NCCS), mimicking the circulatory system and interaction of organs for studying the pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamics of oral drugs in vitro. NCCS consisted of a micro-pump for circulating fluids, two types of multi-insert culture dishes for culturing different cell types, and an orbital shaker for mixing; flow rate and shaking-speed were controlled by weight-sensors and drivers. A first-pass effect test was performed using functionally differentiated HepaRG and Caco-2 cell lines, using a new modified spheroid forming unit (SFU) protocol. To verify the similarity of PK (first-pass effect) data of NCCS with the data from the human body, 15 reference drugs were chosen and their associated data were obtained by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis. NCCS generated absorption and metabolism data showed >70% similarity to human data respectively. NCCS can also be used to demonstrate species differences. Animal models are the primary basis for drug discovery, development, and testing. However, the weak correlation between humans and animals, particularly regarding absorption and metabolism, is a substantial limitation for the use of animal models. Here we compare human and mouse acetaminophen (APAP) metabolism using NCCS, and its application can be extended to assess cellular responses, such as efficacy and toxicity, simultaneously. (paper)

[en] Given the rapid growth of engineered and customer products made of silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs), understanding their biological and toxicological effects on humans is critically important. The molecular developmental neurotoxic effects associated with exposure to Ag NPs were analyzed at the physiological and molecular levels, using an alternative cell model: human embryonic stem cell (hESC)-derived neural stem/progenitor cells (NPCs). In this study, the cytotoxic effects of Ag NPs (10–200 μg/ml) were examined in these hESC-derived NPCs, which have a capacity for neurogenesis in vitro, at 6 and 24 h. The results showed that Ag NPs evoked significant toxicity in hESC-derived NPCs at 24 h in a dose-dependent manner. In addition, Ag NPs induced cell cycle arrest and apoptosis following a significant increase in oxidative stress in these cells. To further clarify the molecular mechanisms of the toxicological effects of Ag NPs at the transcriptional and post-transcriptional levels, the global expression profiles of genes and miRNAs were analyzed in hESC-derived NPCs after Ag NP exposure. The results showed that Ag NPs induced oxidative stress and dysfunctional neurogenesis at the molecular level in hESC-derived NPCs. Based on this hESC-derived neural cell model, these findings have increased our understanding of the molecular events underlying developmental neurotoxicity induced by Ag NPs in humans. - Highlights: • This system served as a suitable model for developmental neurotoxicity testing. • Ag NPs induce the apoptosis in human neural cells by ROS generation. • Genes for development of neurons were dysregulated in response to Ag NPs. • Molecular events during early developmental neurotoxicity were proposed.